DALLAS — It’s a good time to be a fan of the Dallas Cowboys. The team has won five games in a row and is coming off a huge win in unfriendly territory. With the victory, Dallas is a full three games ahead of their division rivals in the NFC East.
The Cowboys didn’t come out on the other side unscathed, however. Dallas suffered a few bumps and bruises on their way to the 35-29 overtime win. The big one, of course, was the calf injury sustained by quarterback Dak Prescott on the game’s final play. The bye week is arriving at the perfect time. The Cowboys have almost two weeks to nurse Prescott’s leg back to health.
In the meantime, here’s what we learned about the Cowboys in the Week 6 road victory:
Cowboys can overcome their foibles – There hasn’t been a game where the Cowboys have put it all together yet and played flawless football so far this season. Sure, they’ve dominated and had some blowout wins, but Dallas still makes too many silly mistakes each week.
Against the New England Patriots, the Cowboys were stumbling their way through bad penalties and brutal red zone turnovers.
Ultimately, the Cowboys were good enough to overcome these mistakes as they came through in the clutch to beat the Patriots. Having to traverse sloppy play is no way to survive an NFL season and it will come back to bite the Cowboys at some point. The bell did not toll in Week 6, however.
Run defense needs work – The Cowboys had one of the best rush defenses in the league leading up to this contest, but the Patriots finally tested the unit. The Patriots’ running back tandem of Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson averaged almost 5.4 yards per carry as the Cowboys ultimately gave up 120 yards rushing and two scores. Also, Harris rushed for 101 yards to become the first RB to have a 100 yard day on the defense.
New England challenged Dallas’ defensive line and the Cowboys lost in the trenches. Dan Quinn’s group needs to tighten things up before other teams try the same blueprint.
Red zone offense remains an issue – The Cowboys are still having trouble in the red zone. Against the Patriots, the Cowboys had two turnovers and settled for a short field goal on three of their five red zone possessions. Scoring touchdowns on 40% of trips in the red zone isn’t a way to consistently win football games. The Cowboys simply must get better at finishing off drives.
Dallas also failed on a two-point conversion attempt, to make matters worse. Offensive coordinator Kellen Moore has done a great job with the play calling between the 20s, but he needs to help improve the red zone efficiency going forward.
Randy Gregory changed the game – The Patriots were up 14-7 and in Cowboys territory in the second quarter as they appeared ready to grab more points. A two score lead is tough to overcome against Bill Belichick’s Patriots, so the Dallas defense needed to make something happen.
Gregory was there to help turn the tide and keep the game close with his devastating sack and forced fumble that led to three big points for the Cowboys. If Gregory doesn’t make that play, the outcome could’ve been much different.
Prescott was perfect when the game was on the line – When the Cowboys needed a play, Prescott delivered. On 4th-and-four, down by three with less than a minute and a half remaining, Prescott hit Cedrick Wilson for a 13-yard completion. Later on the same drive, facing a 3rd-and-25, Prescott found CeeDee Lamb for 24-yards to put the Cowboys back into field goal range. In overtime, Prescott was perfect, going 5-for-5 for 71 yards and the game-winning score.
Perfection isn’t just a way to describe Prescott in last Sunday’s extra period, that’s actually what he has been throughout his career when more time is needed to decide a game.
Combined with the last throw of the fourth quarter to set up the game-tying field goal, which needed to be on the money, the MVP candidate was 6-for-6 for 95 yards and a touchdown. That’s a flawless finish from Prescott when the Cowboys needed him most.
Walk-off wins are fun – It’s rare to have a walk-off win in the NFL, but the Cowboys enjoyed one of the niftier game-winners in recent memory. Prescott’s play fake roll out and toss to Lamb for the 35-yard touchdown was a thing of beauty to watch.
The call itself was brilliantly chosen by Moore, and Lamb’s reaction on the score was perfect. You don’t see a player walk into the end zone to immediately win a football game very often so this one made for a fantastic ending.
Are you happy with how things are going for the Cowboys heading into their bye week? Share your thoughts with Ben on Twitter @BenGrimaldi.